Poor condition of Roebourne-Wittenoom Road

As you may have seen in the media recently, the State Government has delayed the sealing of Stage 3 of the Roebourne-Wittenoom Road, most commonly referred to as the Tom Price to Karratha Road, due to asbestos concerns.  Currently the Shire of Ashburton has responsibility for this road, and due to the asbestos concerns identified by the State Government and instructions from Worksafe, the road cannot be graded or maintained so its condition has worsened considerably.

Earlier this year the Shire was advised by Worksafe to cease all staff operations on this road until a suitable asbestos management plan was in place.  As a result, the Shire has held extensive discussions with the State Government as the issue requires a ‘whole of government approach’ in order to be properly addressed and rectified. 

To date, the State has committed to sealing the next stage of the Karratha- Tom Price Road (Stage 3) which follows the Roebourne-Wittenoom Road alignment from the end of the existing seal (Python Pool Turnoff) to the Rio Tinto rail crossing. It is anticipated that these works will be complete in October 2019.

In recognition of the delay to this project, Main Roads has agreed to undertake maintenance of the Stage 3 section of road after they have completed the asbestos management plans and approvals for the program of works. This will not likely occur until December 2018.

Given the extremely poor state of this section of road, the Shire strongly urges travelers to avoid the use of this road until a viable solution for interim maintenance can be implemented.                                                                                           

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